Young Pirates striker Lepasa raises his hand in Mhango’s absence

Orlando Pirates’ season seems to be on a smooth run as the club managed to get their winning momentum going despite having their best striker Gabadinho Mhango out injured.

READ: Swallows topple Pirates at the top after Galaxy draw

Mhango, who was the club and the league’s joint top scorer last season has been injured since the Buccaneers clash with Stellenbosch FC last month.

But, young strikers Zakhele Lepasa and Tshegofatso Mabasa have proven to be quite efficient for coach Josef Zinnbauer as the pair scored in Bucs 2-1 victory against SuperSport United FC at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday night.

The victory was Bucs fourth on a row in all competitions having beaten nemesis Kaizer Chiefs twice in the MTN8 semifinal and registering their first league victory over Bloemfontein Celtic.

Lepasa, who scored his second goal of the season for the Buccaneers, says he felt that he wasn’t giving the team that much at some point of the game.

But, coming against Matsatsantsa, Lepasa says they needed to make sure they show their abilities as a team having endured some bad results against the Pretoria outfit in the past.

“This one (the man of the match trophy), I really need to give it to God, it was really a tough game it wasn’t easy. There were moments where I felt like I was not doing well, but as a striker you need to stay focused, you need to stay patient,” said Lepasa, who was named man-of-the-match after the game.

“We understand that they won too many times now (against us), we needed to show who is Orlando Pirates. The attitude that the guys have and the team spirit is there. It has really helped and has changed everything.”

Mabasa, who scored the Buccaneers second goal of the match to ensure that they walk out with maximum points added that there is still more to come from them.

“We will always keep on working for the club, we both grew up supporting this club and we are very young and ambitious youngsters. So, this is just the beginning of greater things to come,” said Mabasa.

Pirates find themselves having accumulated eight points in four games, while SuperSport remain on six points in as many matches.

Zinnbauer’s charges next take on Baroka FC at home on Wednesday as they look to extend their winning run. SuperSport, meanwhile, will be looking to get back to winning ways with a clash against Maritzburg United on Friday.

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